This is a retelling of The Swan Princess I decided to write! It's Captain Swan. It will be fairly short, probably 5 - 10 chapters, and will go back and forth between the past and present, with a couple of twists ;) hope you like it! I'll explain more at the end.
Chapter One
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Her body trembling, Emma gasped for breath as her body returned to normal. She bent over and clutched her side, taking a moment to gather her bearings despite the piercing cold water that now enveloped her feet. Even though it was probably all in her head, each transformation seemed to leave weaker than the last.
"No matter how many times I've seen you do that, it's still always a bit unsettling," a deep, accented voice snapped her attention forward. Each time she looked at Graham, she immediately felt gratefulness. She had been so alone and isolated since being imprisoned here until the Queen had started sending him down to the lake with her meals at night. Despite him working for the Queen, they had developed a friendship and Emma was sure she wouldn't have been able to survive this long with her sanity still in tact without him.
Emma sent him an unimpressed look as she stumbled out of the water, grumbling, "Try being the person it actually happens to."
"Point taken," Graham countered as he leaned against a tree with an amused smile on his face.
"Any luck on finding any maps?" Emma asked, trying to hide the eagerness and urgency that was bleeding through her words. For days, Graham had been taking every chance he could to rifle through the Queen's castle for any maps. Aside from the curse, that was Emma's second problem. She had absolutely no idea where she was. The lake she was imprisoned to was located by a castle she had never seen before, by a forest that contained trees she was not familiar with. If she had, she would have already done and still be trying all she could to escape. She was fighter, and it was killing her not being able to fight for her freedom.
Graham shrugged indifferently, but before Emma's hopes were completely dashed, he reached for something behind his back. "Actually…"
"Seriously?" Emma implored breathlessly, a smile breaking out on her face for the first time in weeks, as she eyed the rolled up parchments in his hand. Graham nodded and she darted toward him, enveloping him in a hug as she grasped the maps like a life force. "I can't believe it," she blurted enthusiastically.
"Shh," Graham ordered sternly, glancing around at their surroundings anxiously. "Keep it down, will ya?" he warned.
Emma mouthed 'sorry', feeling sheepish. He was right. He was already doing so much for her, and it wouldn't help at all if he got caught. "Help me lay them out," Emma said, setting the maps down in the grass and attempting to roll them out.
Graham grabbed a couple of stones from the lake to hold down the corners. There were three maps total and each of them covered various parts of the Enchanted Forest. "Can you figure out where we're suppose to be?" Emma asked with a sideways glance at Graham who was leaning over and studying one of them intently.
"There's no marking, but that lake," Graham said, pointing a finger down to show her, "I think I recognize it."
So wherever they were, it was over in that region. It wasn't much, but she would take whatever information she could get. Moving over to the map on the very left, Emma bent down and trailed her fingers where her life was, where she should be. "That's my home," Emma told him, her voice quiet and full of longing. "It's far," she realized with a pang of disappointment that made her sick to her stomach.
"I can get there," Graham stated confidently.
"But I can't, not as me at least," Emma seethed, throwing her arms out, unable to control her anger of her curse, "the night only lasts so long."
"If you fly there-"
"I'm not showing up there as a swan," Emma snapped, crossing her arms. If she did, no one would believe it. For all she knew, everyone thought she was dead. And she couldn't change back into a human unless she was here…
Graham put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, promising, "Then I'll bring them here."
"You shouldn't have to do this by yourself," Emma argued, her voice soft, feeling guilty about him having to risk his life to help her.
"And you shouldn't be cursed," Graham concluded, sympathy and respect in his eyes.
Emma gave him a thankful smile, asking, "When will you go?"
"Tomorrow morning," Graham said, moving down to roll up the maps now that they had studied them, "I managed to convince the Queen to send me out for something."
"If she finds out you're helping me…" Emma warned worriedly.
"She won't," Graham protested with a confident smirk, "I'll be back by nightfall, hopefully with your prince in tow," he added teasingly. The words made Emma tense. If she was trusting what was said to her when she was originally cursed, the only way to break it was if someone made a vow of everlasting love to her and proved it to the world, true love. Ocean blue eyes flashed through her head and she immediately wanted to hit herself. She wouldn't think about him, couldn't think about him, it hurt too much. He was the reason she ended up here in the first place. Besides, the vow was suppose to be made to her, right? It wasn't like her feelings had anything to do with it. And she knew who loved her, at least. No matter what she had started to feel, he had proved that it had been one-sided. Graham seemed to notice her hesitation. "Or is there something you're not telling me?" he asked warily.
"No," Emma said quickly, trying to push all thoughts of that stupid, stupid pirate out of her brain, "bring Neal." Neal would make the vow, he had to. She couldn't go on like this much longer. "Thank you for doing this, Graham," Emma professed, "I don't know how I'll ever repay you."
"A title," Graham suggested nonchalantly, "and maybe my own castle would be nice."
Trying not to laugh, Emma lightly punched him on the arm.
She would get out of here.
She had to.
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6 months earlier
"Emma, please, just pick a dress," Snow begged tiredly, throwing a handful of ones she had already tried on down on her bed.
Heaving another dress up her body, Emma muttered irritably, "What's the point of this ball again?"
"It's your birthday," Snow stated with an incredulous glare at Emma.
"Right," Emma sighed, barely glancing at her reflection before shoving the dress off. Pointless. The whole thing was pointless. She already hated the attention she got when they through balls on her birthday, and she didn't want… no, she didn't even want to go there at the moment.
"Okay, that's it," Snow cried exasperatedly, moving to stand determinately in front of her, "What's going on?"
Emma shrugged, feigning innocence, hoping to brush her off. "Nothing."
"Do you want to try that again?" Snow challenged with a raised eyebrow, seeing right through her.
"I'm not lying," Emma denied with wide, stern eyes. How could she talk about it when she couldn't even think about it without shaking? And with the epic love story her mother had with her father, she doubted she would be able to understand all the doubts running through Emma's head.
Her mother knew her too well, though, apparently. "Is it what I said about Neal maybe proposing?" Snow asked, a knowing look in her eyes as she crossed her arms to study Emma. Not knowing what to say or how to explain what she was feeling, Emma reached for another dress to try on, hoping she would just drop it soon. "Just forget I even mentioned it," Snow suggested hurriedly, "I don't know why you're acting like this, though, I thought you two-"
"We are," Emma interjected weakly. She loved Neal, she did. She had known him since she was 10 when she had found wandering around in the woods alone and since her parents' close friends Frederick and Abigail hadn't been able to conceive any kids of their own, they had taken him in. They had been almost inseparable ever since.
"Then what's the problem?" Snow asked, anxious and eager to understand and help.
"I don't know," Emma murmured honestly, moving to sit down on the bed, "I just don't know if I'm ready." Her parents' love story was one she had heard all of her life, and though she would never admit it aloud, it was something she wanted too. Even though she wished she could magically wish all her doubts away, something was just missing with Neal. Maybe it was all the pressure from her parents who loved him too and wanted her to marry. Maybe it was wrong to compare her relationship to her parents. Maybe a love like theirs didn't happen to everyone and she just wasn't one of the lucky ones. But there was something deep inside her telling her that was more out there. She just had to keep looking.
"You are," Snow said with resonation confidence, sitting down beside her and cupping her cheek so she was forced to look at her, "Emma, you've grown into such a strong, beautiful young woman. Don't doubt yourself."
Her mother had been right about what was bothering her, but not why. It wasn't herself she was doubting.
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13 years ago
She had snuck out of the castle again. Her parents were probably going to furious, but she didn't care. She loved getting to practice the tracking her mother had taught her out alone in the woods, loved getting to climb trees and shoot arrows freely without the eyes of her parents and guards watching her every move. Gripping a branch close to the ground, Emma used it as leverage to swing down to the ground, almost falling on another body in the process. With a surprised shriek, Emma darted a few steps away. Her heartbeat started calming down when she realized it was just another kid. A boy who looked maybe a couple of years older than her. He was passed out so Emma concernedly tried to shake him awake. After a few moments, the boy awoke with gasp, clearly started and shaken. "I'm not going to hurt you," Emma told him reassuringly.
"Who are you?" the boy demanded, fear in his eyes, "You shouldn't be here."
Emma glanced around the forest, her brows furrowed in confusion. "Why not?" she asked.
As he looked around, the boy seemed to realize where he was. "Where I am?" he asked with wide, shocked eyes.
"My kingdom," Emma stated a bit proudly, and when he still looked expectant, she added, "in the Enchanted Forest."
Relief washed over the boys face as he stammered, "I'm.. I'm not…"
"Not where?" Emma asked, but he didn't reply. He still looked hesitant but he still couldn't keep a smile from forming on his face. Standing up, she reiterated, "What's your name?"
The boy opened his mouth, stopped, and then swallowed shakily before replying, "Neal."
"My name's Emma," she said with a smile, holding out a hand to him, "I can help you."
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Present
The next afternoon, Emma floated around the lake bored out of her mind. The days were getting harder to keep track of and the knowledge that Graham was on his way to her home at that very moment, possibly on his way back with Neal by now, was making her restless. The thought of flying around to study the area had been growing all day, especially now that she had seen the maps and could find her way back. They only ever came and checked on her at night when she was herself and could talk… no one would notice…
With that, Emma spread her wings and took off out of the water. If she was human, she would have been laughing, feeling giddy now that she was finally doing something to get out of that place, if even for a little awhile. She would probably be sick later, but it would be worth it.
Gliding over the forest and mountainous areas for a while, she could see the sun heading down over in the west as she began to double back, veering off her course just a little to check out the town she could see ahead. As she flew over the coast, something made her do a double take. Her heart start beating rapidly. Not just something, a ship. The Jolly Roger. She would know it anywhere. For so long, she had wondered what had happened to him, what he had done when she had been taken or if he actually had been working for the Queen all along, playing her the whole time, and she was finally getting her chance. But she couldn't… it was just a bad idea in general.
But…
Damn it.
Curiosity, that was all, got the best of her. With a strong flap of her wings, Emma started to fly down.
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A/N: I hope you all liked it! Please review and tell me what you think! Or if you have any questions!
I wanted to write a story based on the Swan Princess, but wanted to do it a little different. The cartoon is seriously one of my favorite ever. The Enchanted Forest is AU like the curse never happened, and instead of going to the land without magic after Neverland, Neal came there. The next chapter will include more on Emma/Killian's past.